Pythoros
by achillesheel02
Summary: "Find her. Bring her to me." "I've been to that land. I am not going back." "You will be rewarded.""Handsomely." Percy sighed, "So how do I find this prisoner of yours?"
1. Chapter 1

"My brother tells me you are one of the few who has ventured into the Isles of the Pythoros."

"One of my prisoners has escaped there."

"He is dead…"

"_She,"_

"She is _certainly _dead."

The Queen paused, and then narrowed her eyes at Perseus.

"Find her. Bring her to me."

"I've been to that land. I am not going back."

"You _will _be rewarded." It was the first time one of her subjects had ever rebuffed her peremptory requests. She exhaled, "Handsomely."

"What good is gold to me if I'm lying dead on the forests with Stymphalian birds picking at my eyes?"

The Queen kept quiet. Her impatience had reached volcanic pitch and she was just waiting to blow and demand for his head.

Perseus, _Percy, _noticed her anger, and asked, "Why is she of such value?"

The queen turned away, and drawled angrily, "That is none of your concern…"

Percy sheepishly answered, "I'll determine what concerns me, thank you."

"You will do this for me!" her voice was high-pitched.

"And if I refuse?" Percy challenged, crossing his arms.

The Queen's Guard lowered their spears at him. He practically couldn't move without getting pierced. One of the guards kicked the backs of his knees and held him down.

The Queen smiled. "I have an offer for you, Perseus Jackson. I know the whereabouts of your mother, Sally. If you'd like to know them too, I would tell you."

Percy's eyes flashed with anger, "My mother is dead."

"Are you sure about that?" she raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about? I saw her die myself!" Percy was outraged.

"No you didn't. It was an illusion."

"And how do you know all this?"

"I have ears everywhere. Bring me the prisoner, and I will tell you all you need to know about where to find your mother."

The guard brought Percy up from his knees. Percy sighed, "So how do I find this prisoner of yours?"

IOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIOIO

After coming back from one of the cities to quell a raid, Luke felt exhausted. Slowly, he and his men cantered into the kingdom (another one) on horseback, only to be met by his father.

His mind was reeling the moment his father finished his first statement. "We have word of the princess of Athens." The princess was dead, wasn't she?

"Hera has kept her all these months."

Luke paused for a few moments, and then asked hoarsely, "She lives?"

"She escaped the castle, into the Isles of Pythoros." He said, immediately regretting having said it. He knew his son's relations with Annabeth and hoped that Luke would think his next actions through in a calm way. He was wrong.

"I'm going after her." He said, turning his horse.

"We don't know if she's survived. Luke!" his father looked enraged.

Luke stopped and turned. "What?"

"You venture beyond the castle walls again disobeying my orders. You're all that's left to me, do you understand? I cannot afford to lose anymore of my men—"

"I'm going alone," Luke said conclusively.

His father said quietly, "I cannot afford to lose my son…"

Luke looked down at his hands, which were gripping onto the horse reins, "I love you father, but _I _cannot afford to lose Annabeth a second time."

With that, he sped off, unaware of what was to come.


	2. Chapter 2

"Err, no. no, never. I am not going with that _thing _beside me. She's never liked me and you know it Nico." Percy said, glaring at Mrs. O'Leary.

"Come on, she's not that bad," Nico, the owner, said, "I promise she won't bite if you behave and talk nice."

Percy scowled, "Bite? That's an understatement."

He grinned. "Either way, I'm the one who's going to be holding the leash. Now shut up, and let's get this over with." He said as we made our way to the gate.

"May the gods be with you," said the old soldier who guarded the Gate. The Gate was one of the 'legal' ways of getting to the other side, the Isles of Pythoros. Percy, Nico and three other soldiers provided by the queen strolled over to the other side; the path was a long cold tunnel.

"Why are you doing this, Nico? Going with me back there, I mean."

Nico sighed, "It's illegal to keep a hellhound with you in the other side. She said that I had to let her use Mrs. O'Leary or else…" he let the sentence hang.

I shook my head, "Dude, I've known you for years. And I know when you're not saying the whole truth."

He raised an eyebrow, "Well, that's the truth that you'll have to believe now."

"Well, let's hope Mrs. O'Leary's nose is strong enough to track this lost princess of ours." His eyebrows scrunched, "How come I didn't even know our kingdom had a princess."

Nico sighed, "You're never updated about anything Percy."

"Will you two ever shut up?" one soldier muttered at them.

"Exactly what I was thinking, Jason," the second one mumbled.

"Percy, I wonder if we should let Mrs. O'Leary have her lunch now." Nico said in a high voice.

Percy grinned, "Exactly what I was thinking, Nico."

~O~

After being stuck in a cell for months - maybe years? - Annabeth thought she forgot how to run. However, when she got an opportunity to escape, she grasped it hastily. Now she was on the run, in the Isles of Pythoros. The old soldier at the gate willingly let her pass out of mercy, but he told the Queen that she had attacked him, to save his own butt.

She remembered that before her father, the king, had died, been murdered in cold blood, he had told her that he'll always love her. And that whenever she got a chance to escape she should get to the Isles. And find a girl named Piper.

About twenty-four hours had passed, and her luck of finding Piper was as good as none. So far, she had not met the ugly part of Pythoros, and she was glad she didn't. She'd heard the stories. They were not so good. She felt bad for thinking that, because now she was totally sure she had jinxed herself upon seeing the Minotaur a few yards away from her.

The Minotaur smiled creepily at her before charging at her. She was able to dodge the first attack, but at the cost of her ankle; she hit it against a rock and now it was probably broken. All of a sudden she was hyperventilating. Her life was flashing before her eyes and she didn't know why. Maybe it was because she was scared and felt alone, just like in her cell. Only now the difference is the growling half-man, half-bull.

The Minotaur noticed her vulnerability and charged again. She scrambled away just in time and the Minotaur hit a tree. Now its horn was stuck in the tree. Annabeth took this chance and made a run for it, but she forgot about her ankle and fell with a sharp pain on her ankle. The Minotaur unhooked itself from the tree and turned towards her. This is the end, she thought, and closed her eyes.

"Uh, hello? Aren't you supposed to be running or something?"

The Minotaur was confused. Over the years, it had attacked women and it was sure that women did not sound like _that._ Annabeth was also confused, but happy that the gods had answered her silent prayer.

"Up here." Perched on the branch of a tree was a boy, probably the same age as her. He had blue eyes and red fizzy hair and a goofy grin on his face, as if he was lucky to have found the Minotaur. He looked at the Minotaur with challenging eyes, and Annabeth could have sworn that flames were coming from his hands.

The boy jumped from the branch and latched himself on the Minotaur's back. The Minotaur shrieked and started spinning. The boy sprang from its back and landed swiftly on the ground. From his hands he fired flames at the Minotaur. He even made some gun-sounding sound effects while at it. Annabeth decided that this boy was a bit awkward despite the fact that he saved her life.

The Minotaur had escaped before it was burned to smithereens. The boy turned to his fallen damsel-in-distress. "Hey, I'm Leo."

Two girls emerged from behind some trees and glared at the carnage Leo had caused. "Piper, Thalia, look what I found." He said giddily as if that would make them forget what he did; he burnt half the area.

Thalia gasped, "Annabeth?"

~O~

Luke had trouble navigating through the Isle of Pythoros. Getting to the Isles was no sweat; there are other ways of getting through other than the 'legal' way. Ethan Nakamura had wanted to tag along after his abrupt exit out of his kingdom. Ethan said something along the lines of 'I have your back', but Luke wasn't buying any of it. He knew his father had sent Ethan to keep an eye on him, to make sure he returned in one piece. But he did value the fact that his father still wanted to look out for him, even after he said to his face that he wanted to save Annabeth more than anything.

Speaking of, she was proving difficult to locate, although Luke had to admit that he did not really have a prearranged plan. He apparently expected to get to the Isles of Pythoros and fortunately find her lurking around the border. But he knew she wasn't stupid.

Ethan was trying to help, at least. He had leads. He said that there was a mortal population somewhere out there and that they had probably spotted Annabeth already. It was vague, but good enough. On the way they did meet a few unfriendly creatures, but nothing Luke and Ethan couldn't handle. Apart from the empusas, the chimera and the manticores. Okay, so they were mostly pretty hard to beat.

For a moment he wondered why his ancestors had to build a wall to separate the two realms. Well he knew that the mythical creatures in Pythoros were harmful and dangerous, but he was sure that wasn't it. _What was so bad it had to be cut off from civilization? Or who? _

Ethan suddenly grabbed him and they hid behind a large boulder. Peeking, he noticed a dozen hellhounds, growling and looking for a good meal for the afternoon. He inhaled; he wasn't in the mood, and physical shape to fight with hellhounds right now. He was so tired; the only thing fueling him was the desperation to find Annabeth, and that was slowly dwindling. The chances of Annabeth surviving this place are so slim…he thought sadly.

~O~

Up in Olympus, the gods were having a heated argument.

"How do you leave such a mess in the kitchen like that? Have you no shame?" Artemis snapped at Aphrodite.

"These nails were not made for cooking, sister." Aphrodite said defensively.

"Stop fighting about such useless things. Are you seeing this?" Zeus asked his colleagues. They were watching three scenes: Annabeth, Percy and Luke.

"This is not odd at all. Many mortals happen to wander to the other side. I guess it's just their luck," Hephaestus whistled.

"Most _mortals, _Hephaestus, mortals." Poseidon pointed out.

Hephaestus just raised an eyebrow.

Athena turned to Apollo, "Apollo, do you think this is the prophecy taking place. Has it started already?"

Apollo shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe."

"What do you mean 'you don't know'? You're supposed to know, because it's your area of expertise. You're the _god _of prophecies," Athena snapped at Apollo.

Apollo stuck out his tongue unprofessionally. Zeus just rolled his eyes.

"Look, the Fates don't like when I snoop around the future for so long. But I'm ninety per cent sure that this is the Great Prophecy. Happy?" he fake-smiled at Athena, who clenched her fists.

"Let's just hope that they can make the right decisions, for the right reasons." Poseidon sighed.

"If not…" Ares grinned, "I can't wait to use my hammer, it's been a while." He caressed his war hammer.

"Love always prevails." Aphrodite muttered, smiling. Everyone knew what she meant, in relation to the prophecy.

"Actually, I beg to differ." Athena started.

"I second that." Artemis joined in. Another argument erupted.

Zeus groaned, fed up with his family, and vanished to get a cup of honey.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

"Um, this is awkward." Leo pointed at Annabeth, Thalia, and then back to Annabeth. Then he repeated it again, "Do you two know each other?"

Piper inhaled and backed away, "This is not just a coincidence. The Fates must have brought us all together. You are Frederick Chase's daughter, aren't you?"

"Piper?" Annabeth, who was still lying on the ground, managed a breath.

"Wait, how do you know Annabeth?" Thalia asked.

"Well no I didn't know Annabeth. I knew her father."

"How did you know my father?"

Leo whistled, "You three people have a _lot _of explaining to do. But as confusing as it is right now, we need to get to camp before sundown. We don't want those hellhounds on our tails now, do we?"

Annabeth repeated in a more terrified tone, "Hellhounds? Please, let's get to a safer place. i have heard bad stories,"

"Would it make you feel any better if we told you they were lies?" Thalia helped her up.

"Enough chitchat ladies." Leo got ahead of them and stood akimbo, "We have a jungle to traverse."

Annabeth, Piper and Thalia stared expectantly at him. He smiled sheepishly, "I don't really remember the way back."

~O~

The one good thing about hellhounds is that they have big teeth and a big appetite. Well, it's a good thing for you if it's on your side. However strong Mrs. O'Leary was, Percy, Nico and the others still had to tackle the other three out of the six hellhounds that were looking for lunch.

"Have I ever mentioned before that hellhounds don't like me?" Percy quipped to no one in particular. Everybody had their hands full. He was slashing away at a hellhound that seemed to be following him.

"I don't think we can survive this much force, much less this princess of ours," Nico said, glancing back at the Queen's soldiers. They were her advocates after all.

"Let's retreat. I don't want any casualties at this early stage of our mission." The soldier named Jason said authoritatively, at the same time stabbing a hellhound right between the ribs. It howled in despair.

Percy cringed and looked up at the sky, "Yep and we also _really _need to find shelter away from the jungle before sundown."

"What happens after sundown?" Jason asked.

"Believe me; you do _not _want to be here to find out." Nico replied.

"Are you telling me it's worse than this?"

Percy scoffed, "This is just child's play."

~O~

"Annabeth, this is Camp Half-blood. It's where demigods can train in surviving the wild environment of Pythoros."

"Uh, Piper, I think you brought it in too hard." Said Leo, noticing Annabeth's blank expression. He had been carrying her bridal style on the way.

Annabeth asked, "Does it have an infirmary?"

Piper, Thalia and Leo looked at each other awkwardly. It wasn't exactly the reaction they were expecting.

"Yes." Piper said, somehow unsure.

"Good. Take me there. My knee is killing me."

"Okay." Thalia sighed, "Annabeth, you did hear what Piper said before, didn't you?"

She nodded. "I did, but my brain is literally tired of getting into shock."

No one responded to that. They proceeded through the entrance, greeting some people on the way to the infirmary. Annabeth was surprised to find so many people there. It was a common belief that Pythoros was infested with gruesome creatures and such, so nobody actually thought anyone would survive the environment.

Piper walked towards a large house that seemed to be situated in the middle of the place. "I, uh, have to go tell Chiron about our new guest. You two go ahead to the infirmary. I'll come visit later. It was nice meeting you Annabeth." She left before Annabeth could respond.

Upon reaching the infirmary, Leo placed Annabeth on one of the beds. A few minutes later, someone arrived, and started tending to Annabeth's wounds. Leo was staring at Annabeth dreamily (Annabeth was pretending she didn't notice). Thalia, on the other hand, was aching to talk with Annabeth, but in private.

Leo soon got the message, but before he left the tents, he told them, "You two still owe me an explanation." Then he disappeared.

Annabeth turned to Thalia, "You do too."

"Annabeth, I can't even express how happy I am to see you." She smiled.

Annabeth smiled back, "Thalia, I thought that evil queen had taken you and your family…"

Thalia closed her eyes, "We escaped just in time. But my mother couldn't survive on the way. They sacrificed themselves for me."

"I'm so sorry." Then she suddenly did a double take, "Wait, Piper said this was a place for 'demigods.' Does that mean what I think it means?"

Thalia nodded.

"But that's not possible!"

"Why not?"

"Well, you know, the gods don't interact with humans,"

Thalia raised her eyebrows, "In that case, I wouldn't exist."

"Thalia…" Annabeth's eyes widened, "how?"

"I'm a daughter of Zeus. I don't really feel like going over the process of how I came to be."

Annabeth was speechless.

"You do know that this means that you're also a demigod?"

"What are you talking about? No, I'm not!"

"But…"

"I know my father. And I do remember my mother. She died during childbirth."

"Is that what your father told you?"

~O~

**Okay, so I didn't add Luke's part because I wanted to ask whether I should add Reyna to this story. Or am I adding too many characters? Anyway, I hope to hear your feedback. R&R?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, can you please read my new story called I Love You, **

s/8448454/1/I-Love-You

**my take on when Percy tells Annabeth that he loves her. I'm sure it'll be interesting. Anyway…**

**CHAPTER 4**

"Sir, you don't seem to notice who's holding the bow and arrow here." Said the soldier who was guarding the entrance of Camp Half blood.

Percy looked back at his companions, "Well, we have three guys with swords and one with a hellhound so," he tilted his head, "I guess it balances out. Don't you think?"

"Take one more step and I will shoot you."

"You and what army?"

The gate bridge was lowered; Camp Half blood was surrounded by a moat. A number of people marched out, brandishing really sharp weapons.

"Percy, I think it's better if you just shut up." Nico whispered.

Jason jostled Percy and moved to the front, "We apologize for my friend's foul mouth. We do come in peace."

"Well, what do you want?"

"They want me of course." A young girl appeared from the crowd. She had blonde hair, and a long white gown on.

"You are the princess, aren't you?" Nico asked.

"And you have been sent by the Queen. I know that armor when I see it." The soldiers started advancing towards us. Mrs. O'Leary looked exhausted, and now she was surrounded too. The ones with the spears came first towards us.

"You were sent to kill me, weren't you?"

Percy laughed mirthlessly, "No, you got it all wrong! We weren't sent to kill you, we were sent to take you _back_ to home, where you'll probably..." Nico and the others glared at me.

"Makes no difference."

Mrs. O'Leary was eventually subdued. Seeing that we were outnumbered, and had no energy left, the guards easily caught our hands and bound them with shackles.

"Listen, princess. We were just sent to retrieve you. Maybe the Queen won't kill you." Jason said, trying to hide the doubt in his voice.

"Save it. I'm not going back to that place. You don't even know what happened to me there. I was imprisoned!"

Percy sighed, "So that's why we've never heard of you…" he felt a pang of guilt.

"What's happening here?" said a centaur, who galloped into view. Of course Percy recognized him; they had met the last time he had crossed to Pythoros. So he tried hard to hide his face because they hadn't exactly met under 'good' circumstances. Unfortunately he did notice Percy, but he pretended not to recognize him. "Annabeth?"

Annabeth seemingly tried to look innocent. "Chiron," she exhaled, "these are the bounty hunters sent by the Queen to 'retrieve'," she said this with air quotes, "me."

"And what are you planning to do with us?" Nico asked.

Annabeth hesitated. It was obvious that the girl was not capable of taking a life.

"What was your plan after you hypothetically caught Annabeth?" the centaur asked us.

"We get back to the other world." Said Jason matter-of-factly, then he later added, "Hypothetically."

"You _do _know that there isn't any way of getting back to the other side." Said Piper, who had revealed herself from the crowd.

Jason laughed and looked at me, "There is! He got back last time, didn't you Percy?"

"Yep." He said, popping the 'p'. He didn't mention that the way of getting back was going to be a tad bit difficult but technically he was telling the truth, right?

"Anyway, take them to the dungeons." Said Annabeth authoritatively, then she turned to Chiron, pursing her lips, "If it's okay with you?"

Chiron was stroking his goatee. "No." Annabeth opened her mouth in protest, but Chiron continued, "First of all, we don't have dungeons here. And secondly, the purpose of Camp Half blood is to be a safe haven for humans and…others out there. We will only allow you in if you seek refuge here, for a week, then you will be on your way back to where you came from. Without Annabeth. Is that clear?"

"We totally seek refuge." Nico said quickly.

Percy, Nico and the two other soldiers looked at Jason, the predetermined leader. He sighed, "Fine. But as long as you remove these shackles."

"That can be arranged." Chiron said and galloped away back to a large house. Annabeth huffed angrily and stalked after Chiron, shouting his name. The ex-captives were led to another cabin-like house.

"What do we do now?" Nico asked Percy.

"We improvise."

~O~

"Reyna, I think you want to see this," called her right-hand man Dakota. He was up on the fort and had called her through IM. Reyna groaned and stood up from her chair in her office. W_ill I ever get my full private time undisturbed?_

She ran up the fort and saw two young males, a few yards away from the gate. They were running towards the fort. Chased by probably half the Arimaspi (imagine the weird creatures in I Am Legend, only in one eye) in the forest.

"When will I ever get a break?" Reyna mused and turned to other people lined next to her. "Archers!"

Dakota looked back at her superior. She said casually, "Try not to hit those humans."

Dakota turned to the archers. "Fire!"

Unfortunately for Luke and Ethan, they did not know that staying outside during the night was a bad thing for any human being. The moment he saw the creatures from afar staring at his lit torch, they ran like hell. They saw a fort in the distance, and people who looked like humans.

Ethan, who was running beside Luke, managed a breath, "Finally something positive in this journey."

Luke didn't reply, because a hand tenaciously gripped his shoulder and pulled him.

One of the Arimaspi had caught him, and tossed him back at the crowd.

_Annabeth, I'm not going down this easily until I see you one last time, _he mused.

The Arimaspi had got hold of his sword and thrown it away. Now many of them were trying to get a bite out of his body, forming a little tug of war, Luke being the rope. He shrieked as one bit at his leg then kicked it away. He saw a flash of Ethan slashing at one with his sword, but they were too many. Ethan looked at his companion, _Perhaps this is the end._

That was when arrows rained down on them.


End file.
